Germans --- in 1938 and some unverified statements. Reportedly, German Navy
Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz stated in 1943, "The German submarine fleet is
proud of having built for the Fuehrer in another part of the world a
Shangri-La on land, an impregnable fortress." And it has been reported that
U.S. Admiral Richard Byrd, upon his return from an expedition to Antarctica
in 1947, stated it was "necessary for the USA to take defensive actions
against enemy air fighters which come from
the polar regions" and that America could be "attacked by fighters that are
able to fly from one pole to the other with incredible speed."